Our WordPress Podcast “Hello,WP!” Available Now

Season 1 of our new podcast, “Hello, WP!”, about what it’s like to be new to WordPress, is now live at hellowp.world – go check it out! And let me tell you, your feedback and support has been more than special.

Rave Reviews

“I listened and was immediately blown away by its quality. I’m not just talking production value either. The content was deeply and fully explored but still completely approachable. It made me feel emotion, it made me want to get more invested in WordPress, and it made me more proud to be part of this amazing community.” – wordpressmark

“You totally nailed it – was well balanced and you managed to speak about all those points users and developers care about. And how you did it – the sound, the production – was amazing!” – Dave Decker

“The podcast sound and feel is like the love child of Michael Cera, Jesse Eisenberg and set in the movie Adventureland.” – SRH Design

“The format reminds me of This American Life – a good model to follow. Looking forward to being a junkie on this new crack. xD” – Tony G

“It’s a great podcast. I felt like this thing was produced in Hollywood it was so good!” – WP the Podcast

What am I getting myself into?

On July 23rd, I joined WPMU DEV’s marketing team and was told to conceptualize a podcast. On August 27th, Josh and I pitched a pilot episode and read the 6 most beautiful words we’ve ever seen – “Map out the next 5 episodes.”

It’s been a whirlwind, but today we’re beyond excited to share the entire first season of “Hello, WP!”.

I’ve produced several podcasts in my time, but nothing quite like this. For this season, we conducted nearly 30 interviews. That’s 30 hours (more or less) of audio we sifted through and trimmed to the most valuable content. This doesn’t even include the countless hours of research. OH…and how could I forget fact checking, script writing, recording, editing, mixing, sending drafts to our mini focus group, making more adjustments, etc., etc., etc.

Listen, I don’t wanna brag or anything. Actually…screw it. Yes, I do. This project was a beast, and we couldn’t have done it without each and every person involved. So, from the bottom of our hearts…THANK YOU! Designers, developers, guests, focus groupies, everyone in the WordPress community.

A Season One Flyover

This first season, we cover a slew of WordPress-related topics – from the basics, like how to choose quality plugins for your site and an introduction to caching, all the way to WordPress culture and community deep dives.

Access show notes and get an overview of each episode.

Hello, Cache!
A version of this episode was the pilot that got us a whole season. This is where we introduce the series and the topic that sparked Hello, WP! – caching. Josh and I speak to two behind-the-scenes heroes at WPMU DEV to learn about the complexity of caching and scoring big on Google PageSpeed Insights. Listen now.

Hello, Plugins!
I think we can all agree that plugins are pretty self-explanatory, but with over 54k plugins in the wp.org plugin repository, choosing the right ones for your website isn’t nearly as simple. On this episode, I hunt down a WPMU DEV 5-star and 1-star reviewer. Yes…I just said that I searched for and spoke to a WPMU DEV bad-mouther. Listen now.

Hello, Hackers!
This probably goes without saying, but security should be priority #1 for any and every site owner. Unfortunately for us WordPress users, it can be quite complicated and confusing if you haven’t done your research. So for this ep., Josh and I did it for you! We spoke to someone who was hacked by Anonymous, security professionals, and more. Listen now.

Hello, SEO!
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a hot topic in and outside of the WordPress community. But luckily for us, WordPress is probably the best of the best for optimizing your site for Google (or as Josh and I like to say, “Goo Goo”). I would have considered ourselves lucky if we received any sort of response from Google to my interview request, but friends…I did you one better! I interview somebody at Google. Listen now.

Am I cool now? Yes, I am.

Hello, Gutenberg!
Of any of these episodes, this one was (by far) the most anxiety-inducing for us. Gutenberg’s release was, and still is, a controversial topic. So we attempted to look at it from every angle possible and spoke to 7 users and non-users of WordPress. I don’t wanna give too much away, but I walked away with a much broader view of WordPress and it’s incredible community. Listen now.

Hello, WordPress!
On this, our final episode of season 1, I battle the elements of Nashville, TN, to document my very first WCUS and get up close and personal with WordPress’ community.

In a massive turn-of-events, I end up on a call with the big man himself, Matt Mullenweg.

Welp…here goes nothing.

*WARNING* I’m about to get super sappy. So don’t go having one of them “sap attacks!”

When I first opened the proverbial doors of WordPress, I never could have imagined how much it would impact me.

My hope for this show is that it can bring a new perspective, provoke conversation, and inspire its listeners to care more deeply for their communities (inside and outside of WordPress)….because that’s what it did for me.

It’s not 100% perfect, but we think it’s a pretty dang good start.

So, jump over to hellowp.world and check out our site. The team hit it Out. Of. The. Park.

Subscribe, get show notes, read full transcripts, learn more about the show, write a review, and, of course, share it.

I am listening to this now. I have been waiting for it. Heard about it when you guys went on WP the Podcast. I like the format and the way you guys approach things. Honestly I wish there was more of it. Luckily I still have a few episodes to go through. Great Job

Thanks you so much, George! So glad to hear you’re enjoying the show. Pace yourself and it’ll las longer ;-) We’re right with you, looking forward to season 2.
If you’d be willing to leave a review on iTunes it would be really helpful!
Thanks again!